Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
When Apple TV debuted its musical comedy series Schmigadoon! in 2021, it became an instant hit especially with musical theatre aficionados, thanks to its amazing cast of Broadway veterans, leads Cecily Strong and Keenan Michael-Key, and brilliant music and lyrics by Cinco Paul that bother revered and skewered 1950s-early 1960s Broadway musicals including The Sound of Music, The King and I, Brigadoon and The Music Man. A second season followed in 2023, taking on a darker, yet still hilarious, tone as the lead characters of Josh and Melissa sought to find the magical town of Schmigadoon again, but ended up in a world of late 1960s-1970s musicals called Schmicago, with the same Broadway stars — and a few additions — taking on completely different roles. A third season was planned, songs were written and … Apple pulled the plug, leaving fans heartbroken. But there had always been some suggestion that the show could transition to the stage, and now thanks to the efforts of the Kennedy Center’s Broadway Center Stage program, those suggestions have become a reality. But does it live up to what’s already been produced?
The stage version of Schmigadoon! stars Alex Brightman and Sara Chase as Josh and Melissa, two doctors who ‘meet cute’ at a vending machine and (very) quickly end up in bed, wondering if this is a one-time thing — which Melissa is perfectly fine with — or something more. Six Years Later (as projected on the backdrop) the couple are lost in the woods during a couples retreat to try to repair their relationship (and Josh believes everything is just fine). Hoping to get out of the rain, they cross a bridge with a sign that says, ‘Welcome to Schmigadoon’, and are greeted by a collection of townspeople in a brightly light, candy-colored town, welcoming them with a song. Josh is not having it, but Melissa thinks it’s probably something like the actors in Colonial Williamsburg so she plays along. It’s not long before they realize they are trapped in this town that isn’t a town, but the living manifestation of a Broadway musical, and attempting to re-cross the bridge only brings them back. A not-very-helpful leprechaun appears with a rhyme that suggests they can only leave when they find true love, and as their own relationship seems irreparable at this point, they set out to find themselves someone in town who they can find true love with and get the hell back to New York City. Melissa is pursued by carny Danny Bailey — but that does not work out — and then begins to fall for Doc Lopez. Josh gets himself entangled with Betsy McDonough but there is a huge issue with that relationship (and not just the fact that her pa keeps threatening to shoot Josh if he doesn’t marry his daughter). He then discovers school marm Emma Tate and there are some real sparks. But the presence of these two outsiders begins to have an effect on the people of Schmigadoon, from Mayor Menlove to holier-than-thou Mildred Layton, leader of the group Mothers Against the Future. But will Josh and Melissa find their true love, and will Schmigadoon be forever changed?
This stage production of Schmigadoon! is, simply put, brilliant. If you’ve seen the show (Season 1), you will instantly fall in love with the production. Running nearly the same amount of time as the season — with only a few minor subplots discarded (like Doc’s parents) — the stage production retains the songs and most of the dialogue from the show, making it feel familiar but new at the same time. If you haven’t seen the TV show, then you’ll still find yourself laughing uproariously. Cinco Paul’s book is still as sharp as ever, and leads Brightman and Chase do occasionally seem to ad-lib a bit when warranted (or the lines are scripted so well they just seem like ad-libs). The story is absurd, of course, but it also shows a love for Broadway musicals with Melissa’s vast knowledge of the genre, and having to explain which musical it seems that Josh is in at the moment when he’s trying to win over Emma and her little brother Carson (obviously stand-ins for librarian Marian Paroo and her little brother in The Music Man). There’s also a lovely sub-plot about Mayor Menlove’s deep secret that pays off wonderfully in the end, and Bible-thumper Mildred Layton also has her own skeletons revealed in a satisfying way. If you’re a fan of the TV show then none of these plot points will come as a surprise, but the uninitiated should find it all quite satisfying. Whichever side of that fence you’re on, Schmigadoon! will make you laugh, clap and cheer from beginning to end. Most, if not all, of the Season 1 songs are intact including the wackadoodle ‘Corn Puddin” number.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Brightman, who burst onto the scene with his star turn in Beetlejuice, is perfect as the cynical Josh, a man who knows nothing about Broadway musicals and refuses to break into song even when the music begins to swell as a cue for him to sing (none of the Schmigadoonians seem to realize they’re singing or hear any music). He perfectly shuts all that down with a ‘Nope, not doing that’ until it becomes inevitable that he has to sing. Chase is also wonderful, especially with how she can react to things with some ‘under her breath’ lines, and she lights up when she realizes she’s getting her own song. Melissa’s personality is the opposite of Josh’s, totally enthralled with this world (most of the time), allowing the two actors to bounce off of each other perfectly. They also have to ground the story with all of the absurdity that surrounds them.
Their co-stars are also brilliant, knowingly playing their characters as broadly as possible but without being completely ridiculous. Kevin Del Aguila is perfect as the meek Reverend Layton, a whipping boy for his overbearing wife, but he’s so endearing his own little subplot pays of with great satisfaction. Ayaan Diop is totally adorable as Emma’s little brother Carson, a boy whose tongue is too big for his mouth, causing a lisp, but acting as a sort of town crier, eliciting ‘awwwws’ and applause from the audience with his every line of dialogue (he also has a lovely moment with Emma that may even make your eyes well up). Ann Harada reprises the role of Florence Menlove, the mayor’s wife, from the TV show, and while she doesn’t get much stage time she does have one wonderfully touching and funny song in Act I, ‘He’s a Queer One, That Man o’ Mine’, and a key moment near the end of Act II. McKenzie Kurtz is a hoot as Betsy, the farm girl who seems much older than she is, with behavior that is inappropriately suggestive while seeming to not understand just how inappropriate she’s behaving, especially when she describes for Josh her picnic basket with flowing pink ribbons, smelling of peaches (for the Picnic Basket Auction, which in and of itself is problematic in Melissa’s eyes but to everyone else is just a picnic basket auction). Isabelle McCalla is terrific as Emma, the one person in Schmigadoon who seems to be a little more aware of things than the rest of the townspeople, perhaps herself an outsider who found herself trapped in the town. She has a great voice and she clicks so well with Brightman that we almost want to believe Emma and Josh do have true love. She and the ensemble also open Act II with a rousing tap dance number that nearly stops the show before it even gets re-started.
Javier Muñoz is fine as Doc Lopez, a character who doesn’t have much to do except display a chauvinistic attitude, but he does have his own awakening in Act II. Brad Oscar is perfect as the blustering mayor, handling the double entendres of his character’s secret wonderfully while allowing the audience to empathize with him, hoping that he can be his true self at some point. Emily Skinner is a force to be reckoned with as Mildred Layton, preaching her fire and brimstone messages, running the town with an iron fist, the one woman in Schmigadoon who strikes fear into the hearts of men. She explodes into a manic fury with her Act II song ‘Tribulation’, a riff on The Music Man‘s ‘(Ya Got) Trouble’, but she still manages to garner sympathy when Mildred gets her comeuppance. Ryan Vasquez is also terrific as the somewhat sleazy Danny Bailey, a character full of sexual energy who, like Betsy, doesn’t seem to understand the vibe he’s giving off to Melissa. He and Chase have a sultry song and dance, ‘Enjoy the Ride’, full of double meanings that go from R-to-G rated with Cinco Paul’s clever lyrics. Wonderful performances from everyone in this cast.
Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
But aside from the main cast, this should would not exist without its ensemble, the actors-singer-dancers who play the townspeople, each with their own defined characters. Usually an ensemble is just there to fill in a scene or join in for a big musical number, but this ensemble is integral to the story with notable characters including Freddy, Larry the Fireman, Farmer McDonough, Harvey the Innkeeper and The Countess Gabrielle Von Blerkom, aka ‘Blerky’. They are all essential to the story, they sing, they dance (again, that tap dance number in the schoolhouse is fabulous), they move set-pieces around, they have dialogue, each one of them a cog that keeps the show running. This is hands down the hardest working ensemble in any stage musical and they deserve all the props, so bravo to Phillip Attmore, Brandon Block, Holly Ann Butler, Max CLayton, Kimberly Immanuel, Eloise Kropp, Jess Leprotto, Nathan Lucrezio, Lauralyn McClelland, Shina Ann Morris, Angel Reda and Richard Riaz Yoder.
The show’s technical merits are also exemplary. The costumes by Linda Cho perfectly evoke the musical era for the people of Schmigadoon while also serving up a nod to the TV show. Some early reactions have called the scenic design too simple, but Scott Pask has done a great job at reinforcing the artificiality of Schmigadoon with a simple painted backdrop of the town (and the TV show did this same thing by making it obviously show on a sound-stage) with a few added set-pieces when necessary, and more painted curtains to represent the forest. It may seem simple, but it’s effective (and also these Broadway Center Stage productions are not generally fully staged with massive sets flying in and out). Jen Schriever’s lighting is perfection, contrasting the darker forest scenes with the bright and colorful town, and Haley Parcher’s sound design perfectly and expertly balances the voices and the music, never allowing the orchestra (revealed to be on stage behind the town backdrop during the curtain call) to overpower the singing. Christopher Gattelli’s choreography draws on the history of Broadway musicals of that era, and his direction keeps the show moving at a brisk pace while allowing the actors to do their thing, reacting to what’s happening on stage and to the wild applause from the audience.
Everything about Schmigadoon! is perfection. Even if you don’t know the TV show, you will enjoy this production. The cast is excellent, the book is hilarious and smart, the songs are witty and absurd, and the production design is simple but effective. This is a very limited run for the show, but hopefully it will find some life either on Broadway or a national tour. It’s so good that it really deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. And if it’s successful, maybe we can get a stage production of Season 2, and then a fully realized Season 3. Because anything is possible in Schmigadoon!
Schmigadoon! runs about 2 hours 45 minutes, with one 15 minute intermission. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Schmigadoon! runs through February 9 at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theatre.